Jennifer Hattam

Jokes about the 'two kinds of cheese' in Turkey – white and yellow – are common among the Roquefort-loving expat crowd, but after experiencing what Turkish cheese can taste like when served warm with almond chunks and caramelized onions, I may never complain about beyaz peynir again... Read the rest of my review of Istanbul restaurant Lokanta Maya on the city's best website for foodies, Istanbul Eats .

Green spaces are now hard to come by amid the grey concrete in the metropolis that once inspired 17th-century traveller Robert Withers to write: “Nor indeed doth a Turk at any time show himself to be so truly pleased, and satisfied in his senses as he doth in the summer time, when he is in a pleasant garden.” But though such opportunities are few and far between – for Turks and foreigners alike – in today’s Istanbul, there is still one place where the senses can be so satisfied, a place where, it was said in Ottoman times, the scent of the blossoms could make a person dizzy... Read the rest of my article about garden tours on the Princes' Islands in the May 2011 issue of Time Out Istanbul: jpg | pdf . UPDATE: Time Out Istanbul has finally put this story up on their website: " Hidden Gardens Reveal Secrets of Istanbul's Islands "